These policies establish the reporting and compliance procedures for the administration of the Continuing Legal Education Requirement (CLER).

6.02 Reporting

(a) Reporting Date. Each newly admitted bar member will be assigned a date to report CLER completion. The report dates will be staggered to balance the number of members who report each month. (b) Reporting Cycle. Each member must report compliance with the CLER, or eligibility for an exemption, by the last day of the member’s assigned month. If a member is reinstated to practice law after retirement, disbarment, or an incapacitated membership status, the start date for the new reporting cycle will be the first day of reinstatement. A judge who returns to the practice of law may request a new reporting cycle.

(c) Reporting Compliance. Each member should use The Florida Bar’s website to post and confirm CLE credit hours earned. If online posting is not used, the member mustprovide the following information regarding each CLE activity:

(1) title and sponsor;(2) date and location;(3) the member's involvement;(4) number of earned CLE credit hours; and(5) other activity constituting CLE credit.

(d) Reporting Affidavit. The bar will provide a reporting affidavit to a member who has not completed the CLER within 90 days of the member’s reporting date. The member must complete the necessary hours for the current reporting cycle, update the affidavit, and return it to The Florida Bar by the member's reporting date. In lieu of returning the reporting affidavit, the member may update the member’s CLER record through The Florida Bar’s website.

(e) Supplemental Information. To ascertain compliance, the BLSE or staff may require the member to provide additional information.

(f) Exemptions. A member who seeks an exemption from the CLER under sections 6.02(f)(1), (2) or (3) must file a CLER exemption request form. Staff will review and confirm eligibility within 10 days of receipt of the request. If granted, the exemption will remain in effect until the member is no longer eligible.

(1) Active Military Service.A member on extended active military service during the applicable reporting period, who files a report establishing that status, is exempt from complying with the CLER. A member who is exempt under this section must not engage in the delivery of legal services within Florida or give advice on matters of Florida law except as required by the member's military duties.(2) Undue Hardship.A member who establishes to the satisfaction of staff special circumstances which constitute undue hardship, may be exempt from complying with the CLER. The member must report, in the form prescribed, the special circumstances constituting undue hardship. On receipt of a timely filed report staff will determine whether an undue hardship exists. The member will be required to comply within 60 days if staff determines no undue hardship exists.(3) Non-resident Members. A member who has permanently resided outside Florida, who has not practiced law in Florida, or provided advice or services on Florida law during the preceding year, may be exempt from complying with the CLER. (4) Full-time Federal Judiciary. A member of the full-time federal judiciary, who is prohibited from engaging in the private practice of law, is exempt from complying with the CLER. (5) Florida Judiciary. Justices of the Supreme Court of Florida and judges of the district courts of appeal, circuit and county courts, and judicial officers and employees designated by the Supreme Court of Florida are exempt from complying with the CLER.(6) Inactive Members. A member whose Florida Bar membership status is inactive is exempt from complying with the CLER.(7) Pro rata Credit Hours. A member exempt under sections 6.02(f)(1), (3) or (6) whose right to an exemption terminates prior to the end of the reporting period will be required to fulfill the CLE requirements based on the pro rata portion of the non-exempt reporting period. A member exempt under sections 6.02(f)(4) and (5) is not subject to this provision. Pro rata hours will be calculated in 10-hour increments, and any part of a 12-month period will be considered a full year requiring 10 hours.

The member must complete the required CLE within the member’s current reporting cycle to maintain active membership in the bar. CLE credit may not be counted for more than 1 reporting cycle and may not be carried forward to subsequent reporting cycles. Repeating a course during a member’s CLER reporting cycle is not a basis for additional credit.

6.04 Evidence of Compliance

Completion of the requirement may be demonstrated through a member’s online posting through The Florida Bar’s website or the timely return of an executed reporting affidavit.

6.05 Notice of Delinquency and Appeal

A member who fails to comply with the CLER is delinquent the first day following the member’s reporting date. The BLSE will notify members of their CLER delinquency by regular or electronic mail to the member’s official bar address. A determination of noncompliance by the BLSE may be appealed under the 400 series of these policies.

6.06 Reinstatement

A delinquent member may petition for reinstatement under the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar.